Your Favorite 45 Colt Load

[Butler Ford]

I just started loading .45 colt. Right now i'm doing 8grn of unique, and a 255grn cast bullet.
Does anyone have any good BP loads? I tried loading 35grns as someone suggested, but they left no room for the bullet...

Compress the powder, that's a good load.

[9.3X62AL]

Late to the party again.......the 45 Colt gets the same response in this kind of thread that the 32 Magnum gets--40 to 60 posts in a few days' time. Happily, the 45 Colt is more kindly regarded by revolver-makers than are the 32s, with very usable platforms made in large number.

Long-time favorite 45 Colt load for me uses 8.0-9.0 grains of Unique under 250 grain-class castings like Lyman #454190 or #454424. This load is Colt-safe and spaghetti-revolver-usable. Somewhere in that powder weight range, the boolits will hit closely to where the sights are looking.

As time goes on, I fire fewer and fewer Ruger-level loads in 45 Colt and other Magnum revolver chamberings. To paraphrase Buckshot, if the boolits don't bounce back from the target cardboard, they're fast enough for punching paper. There's a time and place for the Mastodon Cartwheelers, but as I grow longer in the tooth my needs for such blastiferous handgunning recede markedly.

[StrawHat]

I'll toss a couple of loads in for consideration.

I used the Unique loads under the 454424 bullet for a long time. Now I use the same bullet and a "caseful" of black powder. I slip a card disc under the bullet and it is accurate and has a good deal of penetration. Same powder and disc under the 255 RNFP is alos a winner.

My newest load is the same powder and disc under the GB Collar Button boolit. So far it is accurate and noisy. If I stay with it, I will need to resight my revovler for that load and that load only. I tried it once and while fun, the sight issue may cause me to stay with the traditional bullet weights.

Of course, I still want to try the Keith loading where he used the 300 grain "express bullet" (perhaps Lyman 457191? or the 457122) over a case of black powder. I have wnated to try that load for a long time but as I get older the supposed need of such heavy loads slips away. I have sold my 44 Magnums and Ruger 45s as the 45 Long Colt black powder loads are more than adequate for my hunting and plinking.

[fortrenokid]

5.5 grains of Titegroup and Lee 255 WFN bullet. My Cowboy Action Shooting load; works like a charm in both pistol and rifle. Light load for pistol: round ball or short conical and 4.6 grains of Unique or Bullseye (Lee 5cc dipper). Extra light plinking load: round ball and 2.7 grains of Unique or Bullseye (Lee 3cc dipper).

[dakota]

I'm loading for a Model 25-15 6" barrel - 45 Colt. I cast a bucket full of WW 250 grain bullets from a NOE mold - looks like a Keith or Thompson bullet - with a very wide flat point. Sized to .454. I also have some Nosler 230 grain J bullets and a box of American Eagle 225 Grain J-bullets.
I've used 5744 and IMR4227 with the NOE bullets. I have some very old Unique (Hercules) left it shoots pretty dirty and I have not tried it.
I have 2400, H110, Lil Gun, Alliant Unique, BP, and a couple of others on hand in this burn range, plus Bullseye. I think I also have a lb of "Red".
With the loads I've tried, I have been a little disappointed ~~ 4" to 5" - 6 shot groups at 50 yards.
I'm trying to get ~~900 fps and would be happy with 2" groups at 50 yards. It's unseasonably cold right now and my experimentation goes down when the temps drop.
The dimensions of the cylinder look fine as does the barrel - no leading.
I suppose I'll try Unique next. Any helpful hints??

[Wheelguns 1961]

I shoot 8.0-8.5gns of unique with a noe 454-280wfn. It is extremely accurate in my blackhawk and my marlin lever gun. I would try that noe bullet of yours with 8.5gns of unique.

[Drm50]

I have three S&W m25-5s. Two 6" and a 8 3/8". I have two set up for WCs. The 237gr Lyman 454-309 WC loaded at 750fps with Unique. The 250gr Lyman 454-190 RNFP at 875fps also with Unique. I have tried other powders and only other I used a lot of was Win 630 which is obsolete. I got 16lbs of it in sealed cans at auction for $4.50 and use it for my plinking loads in large bores. Load to same velocity as Unique loads. I don't hot rod any of my S&Ws including 44mag. I shoot nothing but cast boolits in them. I have Ruger SBH for deer and heavy magnum loads. The SBH and a Brn Hi power are only handguns I load Jacketed bullets for.

[Tripplebeards]

I use the same bullet out of my new vaquero with the minimum charge of trail boss. It’s a hoot to shoot very accurate at 25 yards. Doesn’t kick much more than a 22 Winchester mag. I’d have to check my load data. I think I’m either five or 5 1/2 grains of powder.

[Dale53]

A really useful "standard load" for the .45 Colt is 8.5 grs. of Unique behind a 250 gr. SWC. This will give you about 850 fps. Any revolver chambered for the .45 Colt and satisfactory for smokeless powder can safely use this.

FWIW
Dale53

[kingrj]

Using RCBS N0. 82050 mold (255 grain SWC) it is 25 grains WW296 or 15 grains of BlueDot..These are RUGER ONLY LOADS!!!

[cwlongshot]

TEN YEAR OLD POST!!

Good to see the information still useful!

Unique was always THE powder for the LongColt and lead bullets. Its still a good one! I picked up a bunch of BlueDot and have been using that. I didnt see many guys quoting BD loads but its working great for me with lead in 357 mag & Max 41, 10mm and 45 Colt!

I like Lymans 454424 mold allot. I powder coat them and 13 is my magic number.

I also really like the LEE 454300 RD GC mold.

CW

[dakota]

Why can't old threads can't be brought back up?

I'll try Unique. I stopped using Unique a couple years ago. I loaded up a few hundred 44 Mag (fairly light loads) and took it prairie dog shooting. After a hundred plus rounds the Model 29 was so dirty, it was hard to function. Now I normally clean my guns often (perhaps too often), but this was a test. I came to the conclusion that unique was indeed dirty. Maybe that was a bad conclusion?? I've heard that new Unique is much cleaner. But I'm not sure what the definition of "newer" means? Does all Alliant Unique fall into this "newer" category?

Alliant lists 9.5 grains of Unique with "250 gr Speer LSWC", but shows no pressure measurement.

I can't tell you when I bought this Unique. Probably before the President between the Bush's was sworn in. Is it the newer cleaner version?

I'm conservative when it comes to some S&W revolvers (29, 629, 19 and now the 25). The first 29 I bought (the first I could afford) was a 29 with no dash. I thought at the time I had the best revolver made. But the previous owner had evidently used too many full power loads and the cylinder seemed to be bulged slightly. If I shot 44 Special equivalent loads the cases ejected fine, but anything much hotter the cases did not want to come out.

[Love Life]

I've gone up to and beyond 9.5 gr unique with 255 gr bullets in strong revolvers, but I don't/wouldn't use that load for my Colt SAA, Spaghetti guns, or Ruger new Vaquero.

[USSR]

I use very little Unique any more with my .45 Colts. Not enough pressure for it to burn cleanly with the 800's fps velocities I shoot. Since I shoot trap, I have a lot of better suited powders that operate at a higher pressure level and shoot well.

Don

[Larry Gibson]

I use very little Unique any more with my .45 Colts. Not enough pressure for it to burn cleanly with the 800's fps velocities I shoot. Since I shoot trap, I have a lot of better suited powders that operate at a higher pressure level and shoot well.

Don

Found the same, as much as I like and use Unique it just isn't the best for the lighter 200 - 230 gr bullets I prefer to use. I've found Bullseye and 700X to work very well under those bullets. Either gives excellent accuracy in my Contender, my SAAs and my Uberti M73.

[PositiveCaster]

Wow, a ten-year-old zombie thread! But still a good topic. My fav is 10.0 grains of Unique under the Lee 255 RF with old LBT Blue. Kills deer well and is accurate in both my BH and M94 Trapper. My silhouette load was the LBT 300 LFN over 23.0 grains of W680. Dead accurate at 200 meters and I never lost a ram I hit.


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[USSR]

Anybody ever used SR7625? I picked up a couple pounds at a yard sale and haven't used it for anything yet.

Don

[Poygan]

I have acquired some 7625 recently and have used it in a variety of pistol calibers. I do like it and suspect you will as well.

[osteodoc08]

Zombie thread but still a good one.

13.5gr HS-6 and 45-270-SAA

[cowboy4evr]

I recently found that I really liked 7.5grs of Accurate #2 under a 255gr cast bullet . Don't know the velocity for sure , but I'm sure it was in the 800's , soft recoil and very accurate . Shot out of my OM Vaquero , 4 5/8" barrel . Regards, Paul